Arunachala - Walking Around the Hill

Walking around the Hill is called Giri Pradakshina. Pradakshina means the act of walking around any holy place in a clockwise direction, with one’s right side facing the object of adoration. ‘Giri’ means hill; so giri pradakshina refers to walking around

Arunachala Hill appears to be a single integral mountain with a well-defined peak from many locations. Similarly Ramana Maharshi’s teaching is described by many to be pointing to the single peak of “self-enquiry” with emphasis on severance of “I-am-the-body” idea. Even as Arunachala Hill appears to be composed of many hillocks each with its own distinct peak, Ramana Maharshi’s teaching also appears to give prominence to many different spiritual practices. One such practice is walking around the Hill of Arunachala, a distance of about 14 kilometers.